April 22, 2017 – The Lizard (No. 4)

“Listen, real poetry doesn’t say anything; it just ticks off the possibilities. Opens all doors. You can walk through any one that suits you.”
~Jim Morrison

I suppose it makes sense to plant a quote from The Lizard King (or Mr. Mojo) at the top of today’s post. It’s not the most profound quote, but it does remind me of the active decisions that artists have to make – to include this and exclude that. Composition – whether visual, musical, or literary – is about making very specific decisions. It’s all an abstract problem-solving exercise.

I made a lot of decisions – invisible to you – about this image, regarding the color saturation, cropping, and texture. A lot of folks think that photographic art is something that requires a snap of the shutter and that’s it. I’ve spent half of my adult life in a darkroom, and learned how to use a number of tools in the digital darkroom. I make all kinds of subtle edits, trying to sculpt a good final product. A lot more time goes into images like this than you might realize.